The Frank Lloyd Wright Room

In the far corner of the American Wing, just before you get to the portion that is closed for renovations, you'll find the recently reopened Living room from the Little House, Wayzata, Minnesota, by Frank Lloyd Wright. A true gem of the Met's decorative arts collection, this room is more than just the furniture it contains — it is an intact piece of architecture by the 20th century's most significant American architect. Though the style is now dated, we have Wright to thank for his cutting-edge attention to geometry that continues to inspire contemporary architects. Before entering the room, you walk along the exterior, peering into the space through Wright's signature stained glass windows.

An In-Depth Look at American Style

Tonight was my first experience with "The Observant Eye," a twice-monthly program for recent college graduates and young adults interested in art. Well, it just so happens, I am one of those, so I eagerly enrolled. About an hour-and-a-half long, it is really a lecture/discussion with a curator of a specific department (right up my ally, right?).
They lent us little Met stools and herded us over to the American Wing, where we parked ourselves in front of a Rococo revival parlour.


The room was designed by John Henry Belter, a German immigrant whose furniture became popular in the mid-19th century. Remarkably, Belter discovered important new techniques for furniture manufacturing — his were the first pieces to have curved wooden structures, like the Tête-à-tête in this room. In addition to his New York showroom, Belter built a five-story factory had separate floors for each step in the process of furniture making from carpentry to upholstery; interestingly, people of different ethnicities worked in each department. For more photos on the Met's flickr page, click here.


Next, we encircled our little folding stools around a Herter Brothers Library Table built for the opulent Fifth Avenue mansion of William H. Vanderbilt.
The top is rosewood with inlaid mahogany and accurately placed mother-of-pearl constellations from Vanderbilt's birthday, May 8, 1821. I was glad to learn a little more about this stunningly beautiful piece, after all, I had admired it on many occasions.